James Whitehead
The slow drip-feed of casting announcements for the new HBO Harry Potter series has been exciting, whilst also feeling secondary, as all fans around the world wait with with one universal question preceding all others… who is playing Harry, Ron and Hermione?
So much of the overall success of the series relies upon the casting of the three kids, but HBO did not make this decision lightly, confirming that over 30,000 children were auditioned for the lead roles, before ultimately finding their stars.
Presenting Dominic Mclaughlin as Harry Potter, Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger and Alastair Stout as Ronald Weasley who will make up the iconic trio for HBO’s reboot series.
The new series is dedicating an entire season for each book, allowing a deeper exploration of details that were left out from the books in the original series of films. HBO hopes that this new show will reimagine the story for a new generation, capitalising off the incredibly strong IP which has now been a pop culture behemoth for over 24 years. Attempts have been made since the final film to reinvigorate the franchise beyond the titular character with films such as the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series, but from audiences, to critics, to the box office, all returns have been diminishing.
Since the series was announced, the cast has started to take shape. Whilst the big news is the casting of the ‘unknowns’ to play the kids, HBO have been quietly and steadily filling the rest of cast with elite talent before this announcement was made.
The other confirmed cast members for the new series so far are:
- John Lithow as Professor Albus Dumbledore
- Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall
- Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid
- Paapu Essiedu as Severus Snape
- Luke Thallon as Professor Quirrell
- Paul Whitehouse as Argus Finch
Whilst HBO has moved away from an all-British cast like the film series, one thing they have done is secured some fantastic character actors that already embody the spirit of their new role. Nick Frost, as Hagrid and Paul Whitehouse as Mr. Finch are standouts for me, you close your eyes and you can already see them in those roles, in that world, inspiring casting. There will always undoubtably be backlash with recasting iconic roles, but beyond the controversy and complaints, the track record of HBO, as well as the talent involved does give me hope for this series. All the technical parts are in play for a good adaptation of the books, but this reboot will sink, or swim based on its ability to recapture that magic from the films (pun intended!).
What do you think of the casting so far? Are you excited about the series or nervous that it may ruin the legacy? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out the Tv and Film News section on the Hits Player for all updates on the new Harry Potter show and more!
